


i cut my brothers hair

by amandaskankovich



Series: you're the answer [6]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-17
Updated: 2014-08-17
Packaged: 2018-02-13 12:19:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2150475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amandaskankovich/pseuds/amandaskankovich
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was this one Halloween Karen wanted to be a ventriloquist dummy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i cut my brothers hair

**Author's Note:**

> Deals with body image issues (among other things) so could be potentially triggering for some.

There was this one Halloween Karen wanted to be a ventriloquist dummy. She found this old suit that belonged to her mom’s dad and she slicked her hair back with gel and she drew lines on her face with a magic marker.  
She made the strings on her back with her dad’s old fishing lines and part of an old kite.  
And she looked pretty good.  
Kind of creepy.  
But then her dad came home and freaked out about the kite. He started yelling at her about how ventriloquist dummies didn’t even have strings.  
She was being stupid and confused getting them confused with puppets.  
Anyway she ended up having to throw the whole costume out and ended up being tinkerbell instead.  
Anyway it’s a few years later now and Mandy can’t ignore the whole obvious symbolism of the thing. Karen wanting to be a puppet.  
Not wanting to be but….feeling like she was one.  
Today.  
Karen’s having issues with her hair.  
It’s too long and it’s too in her face.  
And why does everything she owns have to be so fucking pink?  
She gets like this sometimes and Mandy knows at this point you just gotta let it ride.  
Because sometimes Mandy’s hair is stupid.  
And why does everything she owns have to be so worn out and black and red and tight or short.  
Or dirty.  
Sometimes it’s just too much being you.  
But it’s when Karen reaches for the scissors and starts cutting.  
That’s when Mandy has to lean forward and say, “What the fuck are you doing?”  
"What?"  
And then Karen smiles at her and…it’s not a real smile.  
It’s not a smile that Mandy’s supposed to see.  
It’s not a smile for her.  
It’s not a new smile it’s just not a smile reserved for her.  
Then Karen says, “Wouldn’t it make it easier for you if my hair was shorter? Make it easier to pretend? I mean there’s not much I can do about my tits but…I’ll just lay facedown on the bed and you can just—”  
Mandy finds words, “Stop it.”  
Karen,”I’ll be whatever you want. He’ll never be…”  
She’s said too much.  
She turns and looks at herself in the mirror and how half her hair is gone and she can’t even say it was because she was drunk because yeah she’s drunk but not that drunk. She’s been drunker.  
She just looks at herself and Mandy’s afraid she’s going to start crying but also afraid she won’t and what that would mean and…  
She can’t figure out the turning point.  
When things got this way.  
How this night went so wrong so fast.  
What Karen said to her.  
And she can’t figure it out. They can’t work themselves out of this situation.  
They’re just in it.  
So Karen takes the scissors and starts cutting the other side of her head.  
"Karen…"  
"I’m evening it out!" She says and then Mandy sees it her hand starting to shake.  
She moves forward.  
Grabs the scissors out of Karen’s hand.  
Or Karen just lets her have them.  
She starts cutting the uneven parts.  
Evening it out.  
"I cut my brothers hair sometimes." She tells Karen.


End file.
